Stranded, Starving, and Suffering: Farm Animals in the Wake of Katrina

Surviving chickens huddle in the corner of the remains of a chicken
coop on the Eidson poultry farm near Roopville, Ga., on Tuesday. The
farm was ravaged by a tornado from Hurricane Katrina as it tore through
Carroll County, Ga. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

The camera’s aerial view panned across ravaged sheds, torn apart by
the tornado spawned by Hurricane Katrina. Slowly, the camera zoomed in,
spotlighting broiler chickens dotting the debris-covered ground, some
still alive, many dead. More than a dozen workers hastily grabbed three
or four live birds at a time and threw them into transport carriers.

Carroll County, Georgia, was struck by a confirmed tornado on Monday
afternoon, leveling at least 30 chicken sheds and killing an estimated
375,000 birds. Economic losses are thought to total $5 million for that
county alone in the top broiler-producing state in the country.

As stories from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi
roll in, the toll exacted on farm animals by Hurricane Katrina grows
increasingly higher. Cattle raised for beef are stranded in southern
Louisiana, surrounded by salt water and running out of food. The roofs
on up to 30 chicken sheds in Alabama were blown off by the high winds,
and an estimated 600,000 birds are left to bear the severe weather.
Mississippi, ranked fourth in the nation in chicken meat production, had
hundreds of chicken sheds, each confining thousands of birds, damaged by
the storms.

Factory Farming Exacerbates Hurricane's Impact

Indeed, with hurricanes and tornados come fierce winds, power
outages, water shortages, and buildings housing thousands—if not
hundreds of thousands—of animals being ripped apart and even collapsing
on those captive inside.

“We will not forget the millions of farm animals devastated by this
natural disaster. Their deaths by crushing buildings, dehydration, or
injury are not merely ‘economic losses.’ As our disaster rescue teams
move further into the region, we will do whatever we can to help end the
suffering of those still languishing,” said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS
president and CEO.

“The destruction caused by Katrina has left countless farm animals
trapped in filthy pens, stalls, cages, and sheds without food or water,”
said Miyun Park, director of Farm Animal Welfare for The HSUS. “Just
because these animals are being raised for food doesn’t mean they should
not be humanely cared for.”

Had Hurricane Katrina and her wrath hit the region 60 years ago, the
story would have been much different. Small farms have been displaced by
larger industrialized animal factories, in which more and more animals
are crammed into smaller spaces. Automated waterers, feeders,
ventilation systems, and, with egg-laying hens, egg collection belts
come to a grinding halt when utilities fall prey to storms and back-up
generators aren’t enough. “When power systems fail, animals in intensive
confinement systems are particularly vulnerable, put at risk by stifling
summer heat, toxic ammonia, and limited or inaccessible food and water,”
added Park.

In Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, animal
agriculture is big business. Using each state’s annual production
figures, HSUS estimates that the current population of cows, pigs,
chickens, and other farm animals – prior to the arrival of Katrina - was
a staggering 635 million animals.

“In 1999, when Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina, flood waters
washed out pig factory farm manure lagoons, choking coastal rivers with
waste and tens of thousands of rotting hog carcasses. The waste
reportedly created a 350-square-mile dead zone in our nation’s
second-largest estuary, creating a massive fish kill. In addition to the
pigs killed by the hurricane, about 2 million chickens and 700,000
turkeys were drowned in the aftermath,” said Michael Greger, M.D.,
director of public health and animal agriculture of The HSUS Farm Animal
Welfare Section.

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except CCA-USA, and for questions, comments and submissions, please contact:
Deborah Jones at Catholic Concern for Animals
cca@catholic-animals.org